Of Course You Do
by Fallen to Wonderland
Summary: John is just another kid in high school. But when a mysterious new girl arrives, his world is given a good shake. And maybe...the girl needs his help. AU Spider8reath. Rated T for language. I do not own homestuck, all rights and characters belong to Andrew Hussie. Artwork not by me
1. Chapter 1

Your name is John Egbert, and it is the middle of the second week of your sophomore year in high school. You walk to school; as your dad is busy, and it's not too far. You enjoy school, being as social as you are. You're proud to claim that you know pretty much everyone at the school. While you are not popular, you are not an outcast either. You're kinda in the middle somewhere.

During your walk, you notice absolutely nothing out of place. No new people either. Except for the two girls you notice walking towards the school from the opposite direction, together, alone. You don't think you've ever seen them before. The shorter one was wearing a short blue dress-you don't even know if it's allowed by the school dress code-and horn rimmed glasses. Her dark hair was cropped short at her shoulders. She seemed to be listening adamantly to the taller girl, who wore glasses with one lens darkened, a black shirt, grey cardigan, and blue jeans. They looked similar enough to be sisters. You decide to introduce yourself.

"Now, remember, stay out of trouble, and be quiet in class. Don't you dare get detention." The taller girl said. The other nodded.

"Hello, I'm John! Are you new here?" You smile brightly and stick out your hand. The taller girl looks at you coolly, then steps right around you as if you weren't there. "Do you need help finding your classes?" He asked, not deterred.

"Shove off." The tall girl says. She quickly guides the other girl around you. They disappeared before you had the chance to say anything else.

The warning bell rang, and you rush off to class. You find it pretty weird that the new pair transferred two weeks into school, but you shrug it off and pay attention to your class.

Everything went normally until eighth hour, your last class of the day. You took your seat at the second to the back row, and settle in to wait for the lecture to start.

"Pay attention you little brats!" Mr. Baje shouted. "We have a new student, Vriska." The tall girl from earlier was standing next to him. "Now go sit down behind John, it's the only empty seat." Huffing, Vriska stomped to her seat. She looked rather harassed. John noticed that the knuckles on her right hand were bruised.

"Hey, are you alright?" You ask. Vriska just sneered at him. "Are you sure, cus maybe you ought to go to the nurse?" Mr. Baje started writing on the board and snapping out the lesson. You are suddenly too busy copying down the equations to continue speaking with Vriska. At last, Mr. Baje set you to the massive amount of homework he always gives.

You turn around to see if Vriska needs any help, when you are surprised to see that she didn't take any notes.

"Do you need to copy down my notes?" you ask.

"Leave me alone!" She spat.

"Ok, just let me know if you need anything." You aren't sure what happened next. You felt a searing pain in your left cheek then you are on the floor with Vriska standing over you.

"Vriska! I will not tolerate any fighting here! Go to the office!" Mr. Baje shouts.

"I was just leaving." Vriska whipped out of the classroom.

"Get up Egbert." The teacher snapped. You follow his order. "I suppose you need to go to the nurse." He says. You nod, and Mr. Baje wrote out a pass. Holding your cheek, you staggered down to the nurse's office. You're pretty sure you hit the back of your head on the hard tile, which is why you feel so fuzzy. The nurse sighs and hands you an ice pack.

"You're the fourth boy I've seen today!" She complained. "Let me guess, a girl named Vriska?" You nod, and she frowns. You hurry back to collect your books. By the time you gather up everything you need, everyone else has already left. You throw out the now soggy ice pack.

You're heading out the door when you bump into someone. It's Vriska. She notices your cheek.

"Oh my god." She looks horrified.

"Hey, no worries, it doesn't even hurt." You say lightheartedly, covering the mark with your hand. Vriska gently moves it away. You wince a little when she touches the bruise. She draws back.

"I'm really sorry. I, I can't…" She never finishes. She's already gone.

"Hey, wait!" You shout, chasing after her. You reach the parking lot, and you see a flash of gray behind the big oak tree. You run up to it. Vriska is sitting in the shade, her long black hair covering her face. She's not crying, her shoulders are not shaking. You sit down next to her. "I'm sorry you punched me." You feel like kicking yourself. What a statement, Egbert.

"You're a dork." She laughed.

"But I'm a nice dork." He grinned.

"Yes, a nice dork." She leaned her head back against the tree.

"Can we start over?" You ask. She doesn't respond. "Hi, I'm John Egbert." You say, holding out your hand like you did this morning. This time, she takes it.

"Vriska."

**Yay Spider8reath! These two are my OTP, and just...ARG. Anyway, a lot of humanstucks aren't finished, but I'm planning on finishing this one. I went back and read it after going to a writing camp, and yeesh! So I'm going back and editing this. I don't think i will for Elementalist, because I have so much written, but this one will be edited. Elementalist is still priority. Thank you for reading u**


	2. Chapter 2

"You fell off your bike."

"Yeah."

"The one you haven't ridden in a million years."

"Dave, not a million, use realistic time fragments." Rose corrected. Dave scowled at her.

"Who cares woman?" He snarls. "Anyway, John. We all know you're as truthful as an alcoholic is about her alcohol consumption, so spare yourself the humiliation and tell us the truth."

"Fine. Some neighborhood kids were throwing rocks and one hit me." You lie again.

"What about the bump on your head?" Jade asks

"I hit my head on the pavement when I fell. You know, from the rocks." Your face looked even worse the next day. Purple and green aren't inconspicuous colors. The bottom of your eye is swollen. Where your head collided with the floor, a golf ball sized lump sits. Your friends kept pestering you about it, but you didn't want to tell them about Vriska. You feel that it would sabotage her chances at this school. "It's just a bruise."

"And a concussion." Jade mutters. You ignore her and focus on your lunch. Rose hadn't looked up from her book since she pointed out your bruise and corrected Dave. Dave is sitting back in his chair. You can tell he's squinting to see behind his sunglasses, it's quite dim in the cafeteria.

"New girl, four o' clock." He says without turning his head. You turn around to see Vriska slink into the cafeteria. She looks around then heads to one of the empty tables near the back.

"I'll be back." You say, then bounce to greet her.

"Egbert." She mutters when you sit down.

"Hey Vriska! Why are you sitting alone?" You ask

"Why do you think? Not everyone is as social as you." She says quietly. You translate this to mean she hasn't made any friends.

"Come sit with us." You blurt out. She's silent, but you can tell she doesn't want to. "Please?" You beg. Vriska glances at you, and winces when she sees your face.

"Fine, but only for today." You grab her hand, but she jerks away quickly. She mumbles something that sounds like "Don't touch me" then stands and follows you to your table.

"Everyone, this is Vriska. Vriska, this is…everyone." You introduce her. After greeting her, your friends return to what they were doing. "So, did you do the math homework?" You ask Vriska. She shook her head. "Oh right, you didn't take any notes. I can lend them to you, and the ones from earlier this year."

"I don't need your help." She says. She returns to staring at the table and you let her be. Jade and Dave were locked in a conversation. Well, Jade was, Dave didn't seem to be paying attention. Rose was still buried in her book. You decide against interrupting her, as she seems interested.

"What class do you have next?" You ask Vriska.

"Do I really have to talk to you?" She whines.

"Yes." You say firmly. "I have gym. It's my elective hour, it changes every day. Well, one of my hours. And I have four electives, two every day."

"Everyone here does." Dave interjects.

"I have gym too." Vriska says, ignoring him. You grin happily.

"Excellent! Maybe we'll be on the same team!"

"I don't play sports." She scowls. The bell rang then, signaling the end of your short lunch.

"Come on, or we'll be late." She looks like she's about to protest, but you grab her backpack, thinking it would be a bad idea to grab her.

"Hey! Give that back!" She snarls.

"Nope! Come on!" You swing it out of her reach and march off towards the gym.

"Careful with that!" Was all she said. You turn around, walking backwards to face her.

"Why, is it going to explode?"

"Yes." She cackles at the look of terror on your face. "Give it back." This time you concede.

You arrive at the gym and wave goodbye to Vriska as you enter the locker room. You change quickly, ignoring the other boys. Eager to have Vriska on your team, you rush out to the main gym. You see Vriska arguing with Mr. DeVito, her back turned to you. He's shaking his head and she's nodding hers. Finally, she whips off her glassed. Even from across the gym, you can see his surprise. Vriska says some other things, then replaces her glasses and stomps over to the stairs near the entrance. You trot over to her.

"What was that about?" You inquire.

"I told you, I don't play sports. I didn't have a note or whatever so Mr. DeVito needed proof or something." She scowls and plops down on the steps.

"Do you not have gym clothes?"

"No, I don't have…" She cuts herself off. "Never mind." You don't press her, but you notice that she tugs her left sleeve down a bit. The two of you sit in silence until Mr. DeVito blows his whistle to attract the kids to the center of the gym.

"Today we are playing doge ball." He announces. A couple kids groan, obviously dismayed. Mr. DeVito divides you into the two teams then sets you against each other.

You instantly duck as a ball flies towards your head. You doge two more as one of your teammates gets out. Your main strategy in doge ball was to avoid getting hit; only throwing a few balls. You are quite agile, and usually one of the last ones to get out. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a ball flies to your face. The hard rubber smacks into your bruise and tears well in your eyes. You go down. Your face feels like it is on fire, but you manage to get up and stumble over to the bleachers. You prod it and wince. Your eye is already completely swelled up.

Cursing under your breath, you sit and bear it. Vaguely, you recall Mr. DeVito asking if you needed to sit out, which you heartily agreed to. He shoos you over to the stairs where Vriska is sitting. She looks angry.

"That was a cheap shot." She mutters just loud enough for you to hear. When you try to sit on her left side, the side with the darkened lens, she moves so you are on her right. Neither of you speak, you just sit in silence for the rest of gym.

The rest of the day was a blur. You only had three more classes, but your head is splitting and you can't pay any attention. By the time math comes around, you are pretty much a zombie. You sit blankly through the lesson.

It feels like an eternity before the bell finally rings. You gratefully rush out, not even bothering to say goodbye to Vriska. The walk home seemed longer than usual. When you finally arrive at your house, your head feels like it's about to explode. Apparently getting hit in the head two days in the row is not a good thing. You collapse into bed and thank god it's the weekend.

**This was going to be a side project, but I just can't write Elementalist right now. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning it, just slowing it down. So here you go, the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Vriska joined you at the lunch table on Monday. And for the next three weeks. Your face was back to normal soon and she could keep eye contact with you. Your friends warmed up to her too, although you can tell that she doesn't trust any of you. She's still not completely at ease at the new school. Your group was at lunch one day when something interrupted your usual pattern.

"Vriska Serket, please come to the office." Crackled through the speakers. You wonder what they want her for. You hope that she didn't do anything too bad this time. The bell for eighth period rang, and you head to math.

The lesson was hard, you're moving into trig. Vriska probably would have liked it, lots of eights. She seems to have a thing for eights.

Finally, with fifteen minutes left, Vriska stomps into the room. She's looking very harassed, but at least she's still in school.

"You ok?" You ask her. She scowls. You take that as a no. "What did they want?" No answer. "Vriska, it's ok. I'm your friend you can tell me." She glances up at you and you see something in her eyes. Surprise?

"I…I'm failing too many classes." She muttered. "They're gonna…find a better solution if I can't get my grades up."

"What do you mean a better solution?" You ask

"They're going to kick me out dumbass." She spits.

"Oh." It's not like there's much you can say. "I can help you!" You blurt out suddenly.'_Stupid, you don't know how to tutor someone!_' you think, but there's no way to retract your offer.

"You don't know how to tutor someone, do you?" It's like she reads your mind! She smirks. "I'll take that as a complement."

"Did I say that out loud?" You ask.

"No, but your face gave you away."

"Whatever, it'll still help you. Come on, I don't want you to get sent away already." That made her hesitate.

"Fine."

"Great! We can start today! Do you want to come over?" You ask. She shoots you a look, but nods. You smile at her, and then glance to the clock. Five minutes left in class. You sit anxiously until the bell rings, eager to help Vriska.

Finally, the hands on the clock hit 2:30. Your stuff is instantly transferred to your backpack, and you stand impatiently waiting for Vriska.

"You seem eager about this Egdork."

"I don't want you to leave." You say simply. You lead the way out of the school. "Do you need to call home? Let them know where you are?"

"No." Vriska shook her head.

The rest of the walk was spent with you talking, asking Vriska a question or her opinion, Vriska shrugging, then you talking some more. That didn't last long though, as you arrived at your house rather quickly. You open the door for her and she smirks at you.

"How chivalrous." She comments. You grin at her in response and step into the house after her.

"Hey dad! I'm home!" You shout. You're not sure if your dad is home or not, but it's always good to make sure. You hear his response and inwardly cringe. You had hoped that he wouldn't be here, so he wouldn't embarrass you. "I've got a friend over, we're going to go study!" You say, shooing Vriska up the stairs before your dad can catch sight of you. You don't hear his reply, as you have already slammed the door shut behind you. Your relief is short lived, however, when you notice Vriska gawking at your movie posters.

"No way! You like Nic Cage?" She scoffs. You grin sheepishly and duck your head, already preparing yourself of the bombardment of teasing. "I love him." Her words take you by surprise.

"R-really?"

"Yes! I can't get enough of him!" She frowns. "Although most people think-"

"He's a terrible actor." You finish for her. This leaves you both giggling. Eventually, you have to clutch your sides because they ache too much. Vriska is sprawled out on your floor.

"Soooooooo, what's your favorite." She askes slyly. Somehow, you know exactly what she meant.

"Con Air." You say immediately. She smiles at that.

"Me too."

You spent the rest of the day geeking out over Nic Cage. By 8:00, you hadn't gotten any work done and Vriska has to get home. She was the one who cut your Cage party short.

"I do have a house of my own." She says when you beg her to stay.

"But we didn't get any work done!"

"No loss there." Vriska shrugs. You frown at her attitude.

"Fine, but tomorrow you have to come over again and we will _actually_ get work done. I will take down these posters if they're too big of a distraction." You feel slightly ridiculous at your threat, but Vriska seems to take you seriously. At least, you hope she actually did happen to have a coughing fit just then.

"Alright, fine. I'll come over and we can study, alright? I promise." She manages to choke out. You beam at her.

"Great. Now we just have to get you past my dad..."

**Hey guys, long time no update. Yeah... no excuse there, but i haven't abandoned this story! I will be updating more often, so there's a bonus. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

"So boooooooring!" Vriska moans dramatically.

"Come on, it's just history, you're being dramatic." You say. She may have been reluctant, but Vriska kept her promise and she had come over every day for the rest of the week to study. She was already showing improvement.

The two of you were sprawled out on your bed. Well, Vriska was. You were sitting on your bed, leaning back against the wall, your legs dangling off the edge while Vriska was laying lengthwise with her feet in your lap. You were using her shins as a table and somehow she managed to prop her book perpendicular to her stomach and was writing against it.

"I'm not being dramatic." She huffed. "I am seriously dying here." She let her book fall cover up on her chest so she could raise an eyebrow at you. "Don't you deny it." You realized you had open your mouth to argue. You snap it shut quickly, realizing that you probably look like an idiot. You stay in that stare down for a while until Vriska lets her head fall back. "I think I'm allergic to homework."

"No you're not." You manage through your laughter. Vriska groans in exasperation. She reaches up above her head, stretching her arms and neck. You can hear her joints crack and pop. Her legs naturally stretched the other way. Your own book slides away from you a bit and wobbles dangerously. You snatch it up to prevent it from falling.

"Can't we take a break? Just for a few minutes?" She asks. Her eyes sparkle with innocence.

"Ugh, fine!" You relent.

"Yes!" She nimbly rolls off the bed in triumph. Her fists pump into the air. "Vriska: 1, Egdork: 0!"

"Hey, since when did we start keeping score?" You ask, getting up more slowly.

"Since I decided to." She says matter of factly. "Let's go outside." She grabs your hand and drags you out of your room. You start to protest.

"Hang on, I don't know if that's…" But she ignores you and barrels down the stairs. Straight into your dad.

"Uh, hi?" He says. Vriska audibly gulps, so you take over.

"Hey Dad, this is Vriska, my friend." You say quickly.

"Your friend?" He asks, staring pointedly at your hands, which are still gripping each other. Vriska instantly lets you go.

"Y-yeah. Um, we were studying and we were going to take a break outside." You couldn't miss what he was implying; even you're not that dense.

"Studying." He says. It's more like he's confirming the fact. Suddenly, he beams. "I'm proud of you son. Helping out a friend." He puts a little more emphasis on the word friend than you would have liked, but at least he's not insisting that the two of you actually are together. Instead, he seizes Vriska's hand in both of his own in a grip of death. "I'm Mr. Egbert, John's dad. Nice to meet you Vriska." He lets go of his death grip on Vriska's hand, still smiling. "Well, I've got some things to work on, you kids have fun!" He ruffled your hair as he left. You scowl as soon as he's out of sight, and run a hand through your hair to right it from it's ruffling.

Vriska looks torn between amusement and terror. Oddly enough, you dad's death grip on her hand didn't seem to affect her at all.

"Your dad is nice." She said finally. Your face burned as you once again take her hand and pull her outside. You notice that she didn't protest like she used to when you take her left hand. Her left hand is a little more calloused and rough than her right, but you've never gotten a good enough glance to disconcern any noticable differences.

"So, we're outside." You say awkwardly. Vriska didn't hear you though. She only had eyes for the old, dangerous pogo ride set up in your yard.

"No way!" She lets go of your hand to hop on the old thing. "I haven't ridden one of these in forever!" She cackles. You have never seen her so happy, not even over Nic Cage or when you made a fool out of yourself. "Push me!" She demands.

"You're already moving yourself." You protest.

"Pleeeeeeeese?" You sigh.

"Fine." You cautiously grab the neck of the pogo animal and fling it forward. It jars into the the ground with more force than you intended then smashes back to once again ram the ground. You worry for a moment that she'll fall when her left hand's grip is broken, but she holds on tight. The ride slowly stopped bouncing and Vriska finally notices you're standing off to the side awkwardly.

"Do you want to go?" She gestures to the ride. You shake your head fiercely; you never want to get on that death trap again. From the way she grinned at your refusal, you doubt that she would have given it up anyway.

"Need another push?" You ask. Vriska nods enthusiastically. You're less cautious this time, as you've seen how well she can hang on. But in your carelessness, you accidently pull the ride towards you, which made it fling an unsuspecting Vriska all over the place. She fell off almost immediately, landing in a heap.

"Shit. Lets not to that." She groaned.

"Oh no! Vriska are you alright?" You instantly haul her up, ignoring her attempt at humor. "I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry." You babble.

"John, calm down, it's fine." She brushes you off. "And yes, I'm sure." She responded to your unasked question. You were almost convinced too. Until she started rubbing her arm. It was almost unconscious, but it was there.

"Is your arm ok?" You ask. Vriska flinches and jerks her arms apart.

"I-I'm fine." She stuttered. You have never heard Vriska stutter before. She also seems to realize how weak her lie is, then sighs. "It's just an old injury."

"Well, let me see. I want to be sure you're alright. She instantly whips her head around, as if to check for eavesdroppers.

"Can we go inside?" She was obviously uncomfortable. You nod and start to grab her hand, but think against it as she looks like she would break every bone in your body if you touched her.

The pair of you make it up to your room without another dadly encounter. Vriska lets you sit on her left side for the first time since you met her. She rolls her sleeve up to her elbow, and you can't help the look of horror that crosses your face. Her forearm is little more than skin stretched over bone. Gruesome scars travel up and down the destroyed limb, giving it a grayish tint. Some of the scars reached down to her hand, although it was in much better shape than the rest of her arm.

"I used to live in New York." Vriska started. You manage to tear your eyes away to look at her face. While you were gawking at her arm, she had removed her glasses so that you could see her left eye, and the sight almost made you sick. "My older sister and I had a LARPing group with some of our friends. It got pretty intense sometimes, we got carried away sometimes. I guess I was probably the most often out of line. But then I did some shit even I usually wouldn't have done." She stopped, squeezing her eye shut. "I-I crippled one of our group. I was only trying to make him stronger, make him a better LARPer, but the others didn't see it that way. One of them wanted justice." Vriska paused, then continued bitterly. "She rigged one of my possessions to explode when I picked it up. Luckily for me, it only set me on fire. It nearly cost me my arm, and did ruin my eye." It was true. Her left eye was pretty much melted shut, a shallow depression and a burn scar where it used to be.

"Is that why you left?" You ask quietly. Vriska snorted.

"No. If you can believe it, things got even worse." You raise an eyebrow in disbelief at that. "Well, Obviously, I wanted revenge. I was only out for a little over an hour. I wasn't thinking rationally when I woke up. What do you think happened?" She asked you.

"You...went to the hospital?"

"Of course not! Weren't you listening? I was in a rage, I forgot all about our friendship and blinded my best friend. Two of our other friends got in the way, and I tried to kill them too. By then, it was too late for my eye and my arm couldn't be repaired any more than this." She glared at her own arm. "We had to relocated here. My...mom doesn't like to talk about it. She thinks I'm a fuck up."

After a long pause, you finally speak up. "I'm so sorry Vriska."

"Why are you sorry." She laughed at herself. "Actually, I thing my sister did more damage to some of our rival LARPers. She was just better at hiding it.

"How do you know that?"

"There...there were murders, all very distinct. Three holes in the abdomen, an 8 drawn in the victims own blood on their face. It was her and another girl, I'm sure of it. They were kind of our leaders, although Aranea-that's my sister-seemed content to 'rule from the shadows' as she would put it. Not many people even knew she LARPed with us."

"How do you know it was her?" You ask.

"Eight was basically our group number. There were eight of us, we always met every eight days, stuff like that. Also, the other girls weapon of choice was a three pronged trident. Apparently, it was more real than it looked."

"That's where the three holes came from!" She nods.

"Of our original group, three have been crippled, one is still in a coma, two had to move to the other side of the country, one has been arrested for murder, and it's all my fault." Vriska stared emptily at her lap. "Truth be told, I think mom knew about Aranea's involvement with the murders. Otherwise, she would have told me tough luck and kept us put. They chalked up my attacks to a mental breakdown, but murder is a different story. Aranea has always been her favorite, and she had a reputation to keep. I smashed it enough, she probably couldn't bear the shame of having two delinquent daughters." You're not really sure how to respond to that.

"It may seem weird, but I'm kinda glad that happened." You say cautiously. Her head whips up to stare at you like you snapped more thoroughly than she did. "Because if it didn't, I never would have gotten to meet you." Her eye relaxes a bit.

"I'm glad that didn't scare you away." She responded. You scoff.

"Pfft, I've been trying to get you to study. You're ten times scarier doing that than compared to how you sound then." She smirks at that, almost as though she's proud of that fact.

You sit on the bed for a while, enjoying the silence and each other's company. You can feel the newfound trust that has formed between you and Vriska. She trusted you with a story that was probably very difficult to tell. Maybe you should trust her more too.

"Hey Vriska?"

"Yeah John?" You he's situate for a moment.

"This isn't going to make me go easy on our study sessions."

"...damn."

**Hey guys! Well that last chapter was awful. This is a slightly different version of it. I really have to read through it better, but I was so excited to be updating agin that I jumped the gun. Sorry about that. Anyway, take your fluff and angst. It felt really good to write though. I'm getting back to it. I haven't spent much time writing over the past few months. Things have been pretty hard, but I'm back in full swing. Thank you so much for all the reviews and follows, I appreciate every one! Also, ten points if any of you can find the pun!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I know this is pretty different to have an authors note at the beginning of a chapter, but there has been some confusion on my class system. It's the American one, where freshman=9th grade, sophomore=10th grade, junior=11th grade and senior is 12th grade. It goes kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th then 12th. Sorry for the confusion, enjoy the chapter!**

"Are you getting any of this?" You're attention is pulled to a sharp poke between your shoulder blades.

"Just because it's the last day before winter break doesn't mean we don't learn anything, you know." You hiss back good naturedly. You can almost feel Vriska rolling her eye.

"I'll just copy your notes. Besides, there's like eight minutes left." You glance at the clock for the first time all hour and see that she's right. Most of the other kids had their eyes glued to the clock while Mr. Baje still stubbornly attempted to teach the innatentive class. Even your patience has been strained, and you find yourself glancing at the clock the way one does when they've caught a glimpse of it and now can't stop looking.

Just as you are ready to explode, the bell rings. Vriska is already standing up and fumbling with one hand with the zipper of her coat.

"Come on slowpoke!" She says as she decides that zipping her coat would be too much effort. She shoves her way into the flood of students in the hallway as you try to shove your notebook into your backpack and put on your own coat at the same time. You manage the feat, which you give yourself a small pat on the back for. You dash off after your friend.

Vriska is standing outside, leaning against a tree just off the sidewalk. You rush over automatically.

"Are you coming over today?" You ask as you walk past the tree. Vriska falls into step with you.

"Absolutely. Mom nearly bit my head off this morning. I want to give her more time to cool down." You frown a little when she says that. From what you gathered, Vriska was not exaggerating when she said her mom tried to bite her head off. They must have exchanged some pretty heated words.

"What about your sister?"

"Pfft, she'll be fine. Aranea's never really needed me, and I've never needed her." She shrugs you off. You force yourself to put the matter out of your mind.

It starts snowing when the two of you turn down your street. You stick your tongue out to try and catch a snowflake, but it takes longer than you would like so you cease your efforts. Vriska is marching along beside you, balancing on the curb. She slides around a bit due to the ice, but that doesn't stop her or slow her down.

"Come on soldier, hup to! The faster we get to your house, the faster we can get hot chocolate." She commands.

"Who says we have hot chocolate?" You respond.

"John." She suddenly stops and whirls to face you. "It's the end of December. Your dad has been making hot chocolate since Halloween. The question isn't if he made some, but how much!" Vris started walking forward again. "I-woah!" She was cut off by her foot slipping from under her. She falls back, and her hand shoots out to grab your shoulder to keep her balance.

"There's ice." You comment dryly.

"I'm aware of the fact." She rolls her eyes and rights herself. Her next step is a bit more cautious, and when she doesn't meet anymore ice she smirks and dashes forward again. "No more slipping for this serk-arg!" Once again, ice trumps Vriska. This patch is more slippery, though, and you have to extend your arms to catch her so she doesn't fall.

"That's it." You easily pick her up and sling her over your shoulder. She's taller than you, but you're strong. "You are a hazard to yourself."

"Let me down. I can walk." She shrieks. She tries to beat your back with her fist, but is thwarted by your backpack.

"I'm not letting you down until we get to my house." You grin.

"You let me down this instant, John Egbert, or so help me." You shake your head.

"As soon as I put you down, you'll slip."

"Fuck you." She says before attempting to wriggle out of your grasp. It's no use though. You won't let go. She seems to realize this too, because she finally goes limp before muttering "You win."

"Good timing." You say. You've reached your house.

Only once you get inside do you finally set Vriska down. It took some finagling with the door, but you managed. You instantly look at the key rack, where your dad's keys would be if he were home. The hooks were empty except for one of your dad's many manly hats hanging from one. You glance at your friend, who is rubbing her stomach, mumbling about bony shoulders. You laugh and she glares at you.

"You may have won this round," She says, dropping her backpack on the floor and kicking off her shoes. "But we're playing Sorry when we get upstairs, and I will kick your ass." You simply hold up your hands defensively as a reply. Vriska dashes to the cupboard where you keep your board games and snatches up the one she wants. She pounds up the stairs and you follow quickly.

She sets up at lightning speed and you sit back to let her, only interceding to shuffle the cards to make sure she doesn't cheat ("You don't trust me John? I'm hurt." "Hi Hurt, I'm John." "Shut up."). Vriska claims the blue for herself and you settle for the green. She begins, drawing a one the first draw.

"Ah ha! None are as skilled as I!" She cries.

"You know this game is about luck, rather than skill." You are disappointed when you draw a four.

"Good thing I have both!" She advances her piece. You draw your next card, hiding it from Vriska and you smirk when you see it.

"That's why I drew a sorry card." You quickly swap your pieces and offer her the blue one. She scowls at you.

"Shut up." She chucks the piece in your direction. It bounces harmlessly off your forehead and rolls under the bed. "You're getting that." It's pointless to argue so you reach out and grope blindly under the bed.

"I'm not taking my eyes off of you." You warn her.

"Think I'll cheat?"

"Actually," You let out a triumphant grin as your fingers close around her piece. "I'm enjoying the view." Vriska's eyebrows shoot up and a light blush dusts her face as you produce the piece with a flourish.

"Are you flirting with me, John?" She says and your bravado instantly fades. You can feel you face light up red.

"N-no." You quickly toss the piece at her as she cackles and snatches it out of the air.

The game is a constant back and forth battle. As soon as the tides turn in favor of one of you, the other draws a substantial draw and put you neck and neck again. This is the fifth time you have shuffled the cards, and you really don't want to do it again. Vriska managed to get two pieces home, while you have three. Your final pawn still has one more side to traverse and Vriska is glaring at it as though she could make it explode. Or set it on fire. Or both.

"Just admit defeat, Vriska." You chuckle.

"Never. We're playing this fucking game to the end." Her fingers are twitching on her knees. She's obviously annoyed. A few months ago you would have declared this dangerous territory and backed down, but you know her well enough now to know exactly how far you can annoy her before she snaps.

"If I get anything more than an eight, I'll be in the safe zone."

"It's my turn." She retaliates. She snatches the top card from the pile then sneers at it. "I need a two. Or a big number. You are worthless." She snarls, tossing the offending four onto the discard pile and reluctantly moving her piece back.

When you draw an eleven, Vriska screams in frustration.

"All I ask for is one game. One measly win. Why is the universe so against me?" You grin at her theatrics.

"If I make hot chocolate, will that be a good enough peace offering?" You wiggle your eyebrows. She seems to consider your offer, tapping her chin with her index finger for a moment before throwing her arm over her eyes and leaning back dramatically.

"I suppose your offer is acceptable. Very well peasant." She says sarcastically.

"Of course, Your Majesty. Right away." You doff an imaginary hat before dipping into an exaggerated bow. "Clean up the game." You toss over your shoulder as you exit your room.

Once you're in the kitchen, it's simple to pour two mugs of milk and toss them in the microwave. THe chocolate powder is in the cupboard above the sink, and you grab that too.

There is thirty seconds left on the timer when you hear it. The familiar notes of the piano. They're played tentatively and randomly. Whoever is making the sound obviously never played a piano before. You quickly finish with the hot chocolate and, with a mug in each hand, walk into the study, where the piano is located.

Vriska is standing at your piano, pressing keys at random with one index finger, She doesn't notice you come in. When you lean up against the side of the instrument, however, she jumps.

"S-sorry John. I meant to come straight down, but the door was open and I saw your piano. I got distracted." She quickly lowers the cover , and you know she hates getting caught.

"No worries." You casually hand her the hot drink in your hand. You hesitate, biting your lip. "Would you like to hear how it's actually played?" Her eye widens.

"You Play the piano? I thought it was your dad." She asks. You flip the cover back up, pulling the bench out and inviting Vriska to sit next to you. Cracking your knuckles and shaking out your hand before you begin, you play a simple one handed G major scale, up and down, never taking your eyes off the girl sitting next to you once.

"Much better than that tinkly sound you were making." You comment gravely.

"Excuse you, that was art." She huffs. Her aloof face fades though, and the two of you dissolve in a fit of giggles. Vriska takes a sip of her drink, and you copy now that it is cool. "CAn you play anything else?" She grins sheepishly at you from behind her cup.

"Of course." You grin right back. There is an old music book on top of the piano, which you set your mug upon, not wanting to damage the wooden instrument with heat or water. It's an old book anyway, you don't mind if it gets wet.

You only play a short excerpt, but it feels like forever to you. Vriska sways slightly to the rhythm. When you finally stop, she lets out a sigh.

"That was good." The compliment puts a broad smile on your face. You only realise it now, but you were nervous about playing for her.

THe two of you sit at the piano for a while, sipping your hot chocolate, occasionally pressing a few keys. You're happy you can share this with Vriska, it used to be such a big part of your life.

The moment was shattered, however, by the phone ringing. The land line.

"I'll see who it is." You place your mug back on top of the music book. The land line is in the kitchen, and you rush to answer it.

"Hello, this is John." You greet.

"Is Vriska there?" The girl on the other end asks abruptly.

Yeah, do you need to talk to her?"

"No, but send her home right now. Mom's about to kill her." The line went dead. Whoever was on the other end hung up. Then it hits you and you act.

"Hey Vriska!" You skid in the study doorway. "That was Aranea, your mom is about to murder you." As soon as you say mom, Vriska shoots up. You swear you can see a flash of fear in her eye.

"Shit." She whispers. She seems frozen, so you grab her arm and pull her towards the door. She snaps out of her daze when you reach the front door. You literally throw her coat at her as she tries to pull her shoes on. Vriska struggles to tie them one handed, but gives up quickly. Before you know it, she has he left arm in the sleeve and her messenger bag bookbag around her neck.

"By John." She slams the door in her own face. You exhale deeply, drained from the mad rush, and run a hand through your hair. You hope your she can get home fast enough.

The snow gets even thicker at 11:00. You've only stayed up so late waiting for a text from Vriska to make sure everything is alright. To pass the time, you've been staring at the white flurries. You absentmindedly decide to build a snowman tomorrow. Deciding that if Vriska wanted to text you she would have done it before now, you tumble into your bed and pull up your comforter.

You're almost asleep when you hear the knocking. At first, you ignore it, blaming the sound on your near dream state. But then you hear it again, louder this time. Then a light thud and a muffled swear word. Someone is outside your window.

You snatch your glasses off your nightstand and roll out of bed. Tiptoeing to the window, you blink sleep out of your eyes and press your face to the glass, wiping away the condensation your breath causes. All of a sudden, a fist knocks right where your forehead rests and Vriska melts out of the shadows.

You leap into action immediately, unlocking the window and throwing it open. Vriska tumbles in, teeth chattering. She's only wearing thin flannel pants and a white tank top. Her scars are bare to the world and her glasses are askew on her face. Her feet are bare.

"Vriska! Why don't you have a coat?" You hiss as you slam the window shut. She wraps her arms around herself to keep warm.

"M-m-mom." She manages to say, and it's all you need to hear. You quickly yank your comforter off of your bed and wrap your friend in it, pulling her up off the floor and sitting her down on your bed.

"Stay here, I'm getting more blankets." You dash off quietly. You grab two off the back of the couch and one from where it lay draped over your dad's armchair. Vriska is still shivering on your bed when you fly into your room. "Come on." You cacoon her in the two thickest, saving the other one for yourself. "I guess you can stay here tonight. No way am I letting you back out there, even with a proper coat." She curls up in her blanket cocoon, and you move off to the floor. Or you start to. Quicker than you thought possible, an arm flashes from the Vriska burrito and grabs your hand.

"Please stay." She whispers. Her good eye is already sliding shut and you realize her glasses are still on. You slide them off for her and place them along with your own on your nightstand. You wriggle under the two top layers, leaving the comforter to separate you and adding your body heat and the third blanket to help alleviate Vriska's chill.

"Good night Vriska." You say as you curl up next to her. You don't think she hears though. She's already asleep.

**Ok, that one was fun to write. I don't really have anything to say, other than I will be getting more writing time due to Thanksgiving break next week, so don't expect too long of a wait. I appreciate each and every comment and follow, thanks people!**


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